Course Of Love Never Was Smooth
by LateforClass
Summary: Alternate AU where Merlin is a Powerful Magician in a Pro-Magic society where humans and magicians exist in harmony, after a truce, where Prince Arthur was married off to Merlin in good faith to keep peace and foster goodwill between magicians and humans without powers, only there's not so much goodwill between Arthur and Merlin themselves.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER - 1**

The summoning of any high level spirit or demon was an exhausting and tiresome process, danger riddled and often fatal to a magician should he leave the slightest thing to chance. The slightest alteration in the summons, the slightest leeway in the drawn pentacles even the mispronunciation of a single syllable, gave the summoned demon every chance of breaking the walls of a pentacle and kill a magician on the spot.

Of course Merlin was no ordinary magician who had need of pesky little demons to carry out his tasks, not many magicians were lucky enough to have been born a warlock and a warlock of highest order at that.

Merlin was known through the ages by many names, Emrys the Great, Lord of Dragons, Commander of the Five Elements, Lord Protector of the Anglican Realm, Magician of First Order, Destroyer of the Tyrannical rule of Men Kings, Blessed by the High Elves of Vanyrian, Blessed by the Golden Gods of Egypt, Friend to Loki the God of Chaos, Friend to Artemis, Prometheus and Aphrodite, Father of Dragons, Wyverns and Serpents, Commander of the golems, dwarfs and elves of the Anglican Realm and the list of various exhausting titles stretches on and on and on.

Hence, in conclusion Merlin was more than capable of handling himself without a need to use demons. Though many demons would love to serve a master such as Merlin, it was an honor in comparison to being used by lower level sorcerer's who hadn't the name or the glory of being attached to a great warlock such as Merlin.

Merlin was however very interested in the pursuit of knowledge, most especially knowledge pertaining to the spirts realm, where they came from, what they existed as in their own realm, what were the differences, how were they bound in service to the earth under magicians, what were the boundaries between their realm and the spirts' realm and so on and so forth.

Hence, on this beautiful rare sunny day Merlin was trying to summon a demon named Astaroth, known to be one of the seven princes of hell and commander of a whole battalion of hells armies.

Astaroth also had a reputation for being a rake among the Princes of Hell in spite or perhaps because he was ugly as sin.

He was just finished with the last words of the summoning when he felt a disturbance in his wards and the door burst open the next minute with a resounding bang as it hit the walls.

Only one person in all of English country had access to him anytime, anyplace despite the presence of any and all types of wards he weaved and that person was, he turned despite himself just as a frothy black and pungent smoke pervaded his nostrils, oh and Astaroth was also known for his positively gut wrenching bad smell. Think several months of rotten eggs being fed upon by maggots.

Curse his erstwhile mate to come when he was inevitably in danger.

"WHAT IS THAT SMELL?" shouted Arthur his hands covering his nostrils and looking up at Merlin with a glare the likes of which could have turned Merlin to cinder had he any magical skills whatsoever.

Freya, Merlin's long suffering lake spirit apprentice and assistant knew better than Arthur to breach his wards, and enter when Merlin was summoning a potentially dangerous demon.

"I told him you were busy Merlin, he wouldn't listen!"

Still Merlin heard her and gave her a small smile, to show he wasn't irritated with her incompetence in keeping people out, for he knew she'd have kept anyone out except for Arthur.

He turned his irate gaze to Arthur however and said "I should let Astaroth give you a taste of his medicine to know exactly what happens to people who get caught in the crossfire in a demon summoning ritual."

Merlin was protected from the stench because below his nostrils a disk of sliver hung from the special metal framework that was perched like a spectacle on his face.

Arthur however had no such luxury, as he had chosen to barge in on a ritual when he should have waited like a normal person.

Merlin huffed in long suffering tones he said "Next time Arthur, I won't be so sympathetic." He moved his hands, and Arthur was then standing safely in a pentacle, protected from the summoned demon by the freezing charm Merlin had placed on his legs.

"Can't you do anything about that smell?" Arthur shouted outraged when he found he couldn't move his legs, "What have you done to me?"

Merlin rolled his eyes.

Arthur was nothing if not dramatic.

It was that which had driven him barmy.

"I have protected you from your own stupidity." Merlin said succinctly and then finally Astaroth materialized in front of Merlin, his dragon was missing and his head was shaped like a rams and the rest of him was basically humanoid, two legs, and two hairy arms, nothing spectacularly demon-ish or frightening.

"Well, well, well, this is a great honor" Astaroth said and then added, "Though I can't imagine why you would need to summon me unless you were falling from grace…"

Ah! Astaroth was also known to be a conniving bastard.

Merlin smiled tight lipped and cursory, he knew very well that most demons wished he was dead, hell most magicians did too, it was the curse of being the most powerful sorcerer alive. Merlin only thanked his stars that his magic was as powerful as everyone feared, there'd been not less than a million assassination attempts made on his life in just this century.

"Is the smell coming from that?" Arthur asked tactless and blunt as usual and Merlin groaned as Astaroth turned away from Merlin to look at Arthur.

"Who are you calling 'that' you worthless human? Do you have a smidgeon of an idea of what I can do to you?"

Demons were very prideful, talk about fragile egos!

Merlin decided to lean back and let Arthur suffer for his ineptitude, maybe this will teach him a lesson or two about diplomacy.

"I'm not a worthless human you worthless demon! I am Arthur Pendragon!"

Astaroth failed to be impressed and said "I haven't heard your name yet human, and believe me I hear the names of any humans who are great and worthy of notice, and you are not!"

Arthur turned to Merlin, enraged eyes demanding, "You are going to let this stupid demon talk to me in this manner?"

Merlin huffed as Astaroth sent a spell straight at Arthur making Arthur flinch and cover his head with his hands, even as the spell hit the barrier of the pentacles defenses and rained blue shards all over the barrier that protected Arthur from a very painful curse, that would have cut him in half and left him bleeding all over the floor.

Arthur after a second, when he noticed he was still alive looked up from where he was still protecting his head with his hands and immediately set about screaming bloody murder at Merlin.

"MERLIN!" he shouted, "I won't bear this insult a second longer, dismiss this demon this instant, I wish to speak with you!"

Astaroth looked bewildered that some mere human was speaking to Emrys, the Great Emrys in that tone. Hell! Demons with more power in their fingertips that in this human's entire body hesitated to talk to Emrys in that insolent and borderline commanding manner.

And so thinking Astaroth asked "Human, are you out of your mind? Do you realize who you talk to?"

Arthur turned back to the demon, his face etched with a scowl as he retorted, "I realize very well."

Astaroth turned to Merlin at that, who at this point looked plain exasperated instead of the angry affront that the demon imagined the warlock must be sporting.

"Emrys, who is this human who insults you blatantly and yet stands to see another day?"

"I AM RIGHT HERE DEMON! And I happen to be Merlin's husband, so you had better stop calling me 'human' in that derogatory tone."

Astaroth looked at Arthur then, bewildered, snorting he said "You almost gave me a laugh there sonny!" He turned back to Merlin expecting the warlock to share his amusement, but alarmingly Merlin was stony faced and looked none too happy at the human's horrendous attempt at a joke.

He turned back to Arthur mouth pinched in a scowl, turned back to Merlin whose jaw was clenched tight in anger, he turned to and fro, to and fro and then clapped, and laughing raucously he exclaimed "I CAN'T BELIVE THIS! YOU…" he said pointing at Merlin, "married to a lowly human!"

Merlin looked up at the ceiling praying for patience as Astaroth laughed it up, Merlin could guess at the reason, after all two centuries ago he'd been something of a player, tales of his affairs with succubi, sidhe princess', human maidens, vampires, lycans and even centaurs were widespread and various as was his might in magic and efficiency in battle.

He remembered a particular orgy in the mid seventeenth century in which this very demon had been invoked.

"Humans are not lowly." Arthur said from his pentacle.

"Oh they are sonny! They are"

"Oh and you are very much different is it? At least we are not enslaved by the whims of magicians and sworn to serve them like lap dogs without much of a choice, at least we humans have the back bone to fight against magic."

That brought the demon up short, the comment having hit a little too close to home for comfort.

Astaroth glared, his eyes becoming blood red in anger as he changed form into a giant serpent that hissed and spat.

"Resorting to parlor tricks are we now? Surely you can't believe a bit of contortion is going to impress me much demon?"

Astaroth changed form at once back into a humanoid with a ram's head, he tilted his head to one side looking at Arthur contemplatively before saying "You have courage human."

"My name is Arthur!" Arthur hissed.

Astaroth paid him no mind as he turned to Merlin, "Is he always so feisty, I can almost see why you must have been enchanted enough to marry this human."

Arthur snorted at that, "You don't keep up very well with current news much, do you demon?"

"I wasn't talking to you human!"

"ENOUGH!" Merlin shouted from where he was perched on his throne, this had gone on long enough.

He clapped his hands.

"Oh come on! It's been a decade since I was summoned by anyone and I was just getting into the juicier part of this story Emrys!"

Merlin stared back passively and finally the demon vaporized back into a black smoke, all the while nattering on about how it was unfair that Merlin was preventing him from an opportunity for ripe gossip after a decade of tedious boredom.

Merlin paid him no mind as he watched Arthur, who had by this point crossed his arms in front of him and was looking at Merlin with utmost displeasure as his was wont to do.

Finally Astaroth's crux disappeared along with the god awful stench and Merlin removed his glasses and regarded Arthur.

He looked just as the same as he did when he left, all those years ago, ten to be precise.

Why he'd come to see Merlin now was anybody's guess, Merlin hoped it wasn't a plea for immortality for his father like a dozen different times.

Merlin would not bestow such a gift on such a worthless human like Arthur's father. No matter how much Arthur begged him to.

Arthur drew himself tighter once Merlin's eerie gaze was focused entirely on him.

They kept looking at one another in tense silence for a whole of ten minutes before Merlin moved minutely on his throne and asked Arthur, "Well, what have you come here for?"

Arthur seemed hesitant to answer, and this alone made alarm bells ring in Merlin's mind. Whatever Arthur was going to ask of him, Merlin knew it was going to be bad and he knew he wasn't going to like this demand, for it was always a demand with Arthur.

Finally Arthur seemed to gather his strength about him, like he did right before he was about to explode into righteous fury only this time it wasn't fury so much as embarrassment that colored Arthur's tone as he said rigidly, "I want to have a child."

Merlin's mouth dropped open, it was safe to say he wasn't expecting that of all things.

"No" he said immediately and without tact, what can he say? Arthur's tactlessness was rubbing off on him.

Arthur looked outraged and he was all spitball of fury as he shouted, "What do you mean no? I'm your husband! I want to have children, so provide me with them or annul our marriage so I can find a different man to marry and have children with!"

"A marriage to me cannot be annulled, you knew it when you married me." Merlin said tonelessly as he mulled on Arthur's sudden hair brained desire to have a child of all things.

"It's not like I married you out of choice Merlin!" Arthur retorted waspish and biting.

"It's not like I had much of a choice either remember? And I was merciful and let you take her place when I could have just had her if I wanted to!" Merlin snapped back, Arthur was able to get under his skin like no other person ever did.

"You call that mercy? Are you perhaps deluded?"

"Not more deluded than your father, tell me, how is Uther these days?" Merlin knew it was a low blow when Arthur's eyes narrowed with simmering anger and hatred, making an allusion to Uther's mental deterioration was low, no matter that Uther Pendragon deserved all the scorn and derision a thousand times over.

Arthur gritted his teeth and said nothing.

Merlin went on, now that he'd started he couldn't stop talking, "And where did you even conceive the idea of having a child? Do you know the first thing about children to handle one of your own?"

"Every one of my friends, mortal and otherwise have children"

"And that's reason enough for you to want one?"

"Why can't you do me this one favor?"

"I'm not going to give you a child just because you wish it Arthur."

"WHY NOT?"

"Because it's a child! It's not just you and your desires that matter here."

"As if my desires have ever mattered much to you Merlin"

Merlin sighed and rubbed his temples in absolute irritation, this was the last thing he needed imposed upon him when he was on the cusp of a groundbreaking invention about the gateway to the spirit world.

"I'm not giving you a child, and that's my final answer."

Merlin expected Arthur to fly into a raging fit of temper and leave with all the grandiosity of a spurned Prince and not return for another ten years, preferably when Merlin had time enough for this and had completed his research but uncharacteristically Arthur's shoulders slumped and he looked truly aggrieved making a pang go into Merlin's chest.

His eyes when he met Merlin's were imploring and desperate, "Please Merlin, I can't go another decade with nothing but a failed marriage and occasional philandering's to fill my days. Please…if you care about me at all, give me a child."

This was the problem with humans see, they always needed a purpose for existence instead of simply existing, they fashioned these ideals of satisfaction to focus their attention for the limited time they were allowed to live and die and for most of them a life without a purpose was like being blinded and left to fend for themselves in a forest.

But Arthur was not a mortal anymore, still his roots influenced a certain amount of power over him, he was new to the whole immortality jargon after all, courtesy of being married to Merlin.

And now his mortal side, his human side was wanting for satisfaction in the most basic way humans did, by reproducing and focusing their life spans attention on their own procreation.

"You realize I can't just make a child out of nothing, we'd have to have sex." Merlin said bluntly and without fanfare, after all having to have sex with Merlin might well be a deterrent in Arthur's plans to have a child.

"I'd realized that Merlin, I'm not an idiot" arguable but Merlin said nothing as Arthur continued, "I'm willing to go through it if it will give me a child."

Well, there went Merlin's last hope for evasion, that Arthur would be too put off with the necessity of having sex with Merlin and he'd be quite safe from Arthur's ridiculous demands for a decade or two longer.

Finally with nothing left for it Merlin said "I'll have to think about this, I need time."

"I'll come back tomorrow" Arthur said giving Merlin no time to come up with any excuses that he will not be available tomorrow he left swiftly making Merlin thump his head with his fist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter - 2**

* * *

The harps and violins played a slow melodic tune, the candelabras floated on the ceiling with fairy lights that changed color from blue, to green to red, the buffet tables were filled with every delicacy imaginable on the planet and the ball room was filled to the brim with couples dancing, laughing and general merry making as some of the more naughty ones escaped to not so well hidden alcoves.

"Maybe you should ask again instead of being so hasty about this Arthur" Gwen said, one arm linked with Arthur's and the other with Lancelot's.

Arthur bristled as expected and Gwen held a hand halting him before he could explode in righteous indignation.

"I'm just saying it would be better for all if the child were Merlin's. Did you even think of the repercussions should he refuse to accept the child when he realizes you've gone and conceived one with another person?"

"That's not my problem anymore Gwen, I asked him, he refused" Arthur said in no mood to entertain or listen to reason.

Lance squeezed Gwen's arm and took over saying, "You could be put to death for cheating on him, your child if you manage to conceive one could be exiled and defamed, and how on earth are you hoping to conceive a child without magic? You are a man, in case you have forgotten."

Lance's voice was genteel but that didn't sooth Arthur one bit as his hackles rose and he said "I don't care anymore about consequences, I think I've done enough of that for ten years."

"Arthur your marriage is the only thing that's keeping magicians and commoners from fighting, the people need the solidarity of your marriage to Merlin."

Arthur glared at Lance while Gwen surreptitiously squeezed Lance's arm to stop him from talking, he was only making things worse. Lance was Merlin's friend and as such Arthur didn't like to be argued with when he was not in a mood to listen.

"Whom do you think will be best for the job from the list?" Arthur asked addressing Gwen, not bothering to acknowledge the deep sigh from Lancelot.

Gwen frowned for a minute but then she removed her hands from Lancelot's and said "Could you get me a drink Lancey?"

Lance unlike other men who might have been embarrassed at being called with a nick name just smiled a bit too dopily and Arthur rolled his eyes as he went away, immediately bowing to Gwen's every whim. There wasn't one couple here who were not totally envious of the pair, Arthur included.

The list referred to the number of gentlemen whom Arthur could safely have sex with, and whom would be most likely in his goal to conceive a child.

Gwen dithered before she said reasonably, "I don't know why you are insistent on this Arthur, you need magic to conceive and you know it!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, yes he knew, and Arthur had a solution to that pesky little problem already, though he wasn't going to tell Gwen that he'd found out a way. He suspected the only reason Morgana and Gwen had agreed to him having a child out of wedlock was because they both thought it was nigh impossible for an ordinary man like Arthur to conceive with another man because he did not have magic.

"The list Gwen, who do you think is best or I'm going to pick some bloke randomly and be done with that" Arthur threatened, and he knew both Morgana and Gwen did not want him to pick Cedric or God forbid Valiant just to spite them both and Merlin.

"There's Leon…" Gwen started hesitantly, wishing Morgana were here as Arthur's unfortunate wing-woman instead of her.

Arthur snorted, his eyes searching and finding the red haired Lord Leon among the party of milling nobles. Leon was not a sorcerer, however he was a very respectable noble lord belonging to an ancient family of nobles, and as such would be a very suitable partner indeed for someone of Arthur's status that is if Arthur were not unfortunately married.

It helped also that he looked very good, tall, and handsome in a rugged way, ginger hair curling about his neck and ears, blue eyes, and a very attractive smile.

Unfortunately Arthur knew Morgana had an eye on that very Lord, even though she wouldn't accept it under pain of death. So Arthur knew Leon was out of question, and regrettably so. Leon was responsible, kind, and noble, good qualities when you were looking for a potential mate to have a child with.

"No, Morgana would kill me if I tried, next one Gwen" Arthur said as they walked around the dance floor stopping by a round stone pillar painted entirely in white. From their vantage point everyone around them was visible and Arthur could hear Gwen sighing as she considered the men on the list.

"There's Mordred…." Gwen said in a very small voice wondering whether she should have mentioned it at all, as she knew Mordred was a very powerful sorcerer and Arthur may end up really pregnant if he deigned to sleep with Mordred.

Arthur considered the magician, Mordred was dark haired, with dark blue eyes that looked haunted and intense and downright frightening if you gazed into them for too long. He was known to be a very very powerful magician who had a seat in the Ward Council of Magicians, his specialty known especially among the magicians and war veterans was mind torture.

Arthur shuddered just thinking about sleeping with Mordred, creepy, creepy, creepy, yes three times because he was just that creepy.

"NO, next one."

"There's ehh…well Valiant…"

"Good Lord no! That's man is a brute!" Arthur snapped immediately, offended that Gwen would even offer him as a choice, maybe she meant to detract him from his goal by mentioning all the men who were less than qualified for the job.

"How about Percival?" asked Gwen wondering when Lance would turn up to save her?

Arthur eyed the giant Lord Percival, he was seated at one of the humpty number of dinner tables, eating slowly from his plate, looking at no one in particular.

Despite his massive frame Percy was known to be a gentle soul, he was a very recent noble, one who had been awarded lands and title from Merlin himself after Percival had saved Merlin's neck from some skirmish or the other. And Arthur just knew, that Percival was too loyal to Merlin to sleep with him.

"He wouldn't; Merlin basically made him who he is today."

Gwen huffed and puffed, getting exasperated as Arthur shot down man after man and she really made an effort to look at all the men assembled in the gathering before she offered her next choice.

"Lord Edwin! He's a magician of good pedigree and I'm sure he'd be very agreeable" Gwen gushed exaggerating all the man's good qualities.

Arthur frowned looking at Lord Edwin, who was decked out in classic grey wizard robes, he was a healer, and an unfortunate accident long ago had scarred half of his face. And he was just as creepy as Mordred, all magicians were to Arthur.

"No, he wouldn't do."

"WHY NOT?" Gwen asked getting agitated, Arthur was being too picky for a single lay which had no possibility for him to conceive anyway!

Arthur turned to Gwen with a little pout, and Gwen relented looking through the crowd again.

"Lord Owaine" she shot it from her mouth, not caring to consider anymore.

"Too young."

"Lord Hector"

"Too old."

"Lord Bedivere"

"Too stocky, I don't want my child to have his genes!"

"Lord Cedric"

"Too ugly by far"

"Lord Olaf"

"Too old!"

"Aulfric?"

"GWEN! He's old enough to be my grandfather!" Arthur turned to look at her with a pinched expression on his face.

"UGH! Just do it with Elyan! I'll ask him myself and you can have your dalliance to piss off Merlin"

"I'm not doing this to piss off Merlin!" Arthur said hotly, to which Gwen raised her eyebrows dubiously.

Arthur looked heavenward before he admitted, "Fine, but not only to piss of Merlin. And Elyan is engaged."

"What? When? With whom?" asked Gwen as her brother hadn't bothered her to inform him of any special lady or gentleman in his life so far.

"Shh, shhh, he's not asked her yet, he's a little nervous about whether she'll say yes though I think he's dithering for no reason…"

"Who is she? Elyan never says a thing to me! How come he said this to you?"

Arthur tilted his head sideways slightly towards Gwen and in a matter of fact tone he said "He probably didn't want you to scare her off like you did Sofia."

"Sofia was a hag!"

Arthur couldn't disagree with that so he kept quiet.

Gwen finally sighed and said "You're right, no one here today is qualified enough for a tupping, so come on, let's just get some champagne and forget about this business for today…" Gwen caught Arthur's arm in hers and tugged none too gently when Arthur tugged back looking at something, or rather someone far across the ball room.

"NO! NO ARTHUR!"

It was a miracle they hadn't noticed him earlier for all the ruckus he was making at the bar table. Not even a whole hour into the party and he was already close enough to climbing the bar table, or stripping bare and singing loudly, or hitting someone who'd be stupid enough to chance a drunken brawl, or crawling under dinner tables lifting women's skirts, or stealing a wife or two from her Lord and running for the hills when said husbands came looking for their erstwhile wandering and wanton wives.

Sir Gwaine was indeed quite a legend among nobles, magicians and commoners alike.

"WHY NOT?" it was Arthur who was indignant this time as Gwen tugged at his arm hard.

"He's Gwaine! And that reason is sufficient enough don't you think?"

Arthur looked none too impressed, like the gravity of his ill thought out and stupid choice did not strike him as idiotic in the least.

"He's ruggedly handsome, tall, a great swordsman, virile…"

"A little too virile Arthur! He's the laughing stock of the nobility!"

"He's charming, every woman who is not you wants to sleep with him."

"Because he's a pig who takes advantage of woman!"

"And every man wants to be him."

"Not one does, and you're delusional if you think otherwise. Now let's go…come on!" Gwen said hurriedly tugging again, Arthur's reputation would not survive if he chose to sleep with Gwaine of all people. Everyone would know!

"No Gwen!" Arthur said forcefully tugging his arm out of hers. "I've made my choice." He said resolutely and looked at Gwaine who was none the wiser.

"Arthur, even you must know he's a bad choice! Listen to yourself, your name would be ruined! And Gwaine would never take responsibility for you or the child if you manage to conceive one. You must look elsewhere, we'll go the next ball, I'm sure there will be someone who will fit the bill…."

Arthur was not listening however, he was done being reasonable. For one night, he wanted to be wild and uninhibited, to take and give pleasure, to let loose and let go of himself and his responsibilities to his people, to forget his ill begotten fate and all the disappointments that came with it, for one night he wanted to be absolutely unhinged.

Keeping this in mind he remarked to Gwen, "Do you know what they say about him Gwen? They say he can make the most novice nun beg for him to sin with her because he is just that good….and I dearly need a good shag."

"If you'd only just speak to Merlin…"

Arthur snorted humorlessly, "Merlin is a disappointment in the sack on all accounts."

Something about Arthur's biting tone made Gwen pause as she looked at Arthur, stiff and tense now after Merlin's name was uttered, she didn't know how bad things were between them but by Arthur's posture alone she could tell that Merlin must have done some wrong by Arthur, just as no doubt Arthur had to have done wrong by Merlin.

But still, with the tension that rolled among them whenever they were in a room together, Gwen would have thought that the sex would be phenomenal! Especially with Merlin being a magician of great power, magicians were known to have a few uncanny tricks up their sleeves for the bedroom activities, why an entire book was dedicated to all the kinky things that magicians were capable of doing that normal people just couldn't.

Was it possible then that Merlin didn't treat Arthur as more than an inconvenient obligation because of the circumstances of their marriage? Was all the general snappiness and head butting actually hatred and nothing more?

Morgana had said once that Arthur was lucky in one aspect at least because apparently Merlin had quite a colorful past that could put even Gwaine to shame.

But with Arthur's general attitude in the last ten years, one could see that obviously he was not a person who got laid regularly or even quite often.

Had Arthur gone without even decent sex for all these years? Were Merlin and Arthur so apart that they'd stopped doing it long ago?

It certainly seemed so to Gwen, as she noticed the predatory look in Arthur's eyes. He was going to go for Gwaine.

And there was nothing Gwen could do to stop him.

Gwen closed her eyes in defeat trying to think of something, anything to say that would deter Arthur short of actually drugging him and getting him away fast enough without getting arrested herself. When she opened her eyes Arthur was half way into the dance floor pushing past people with a confident stride and a swagger to his hips.

As he moved effortlessly through the crowed, many a man and woman's gaze fell on him with reluctant awe.

And Gwen wondered, Oh Merlin! How could you not want to tumble him?

Out loud she only said, "Oh Morgana, I hope you'll forgive me."

It seemed that she had failed spectacularly to keep an eye on Arthur and lead him to someone who was potentially safe and harmless for a dalliance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter - 3**

Arthur approached Gwaine sitting atop the bar table with a bravado he did not entirely feel, he was being reckless and he knew it. He wasn't even sure whether Gwaine would even be interested, like Percy, Gwaine was also Merlin's friend. However, unlike Percy, Gwaine was known to be all too willing once he'd had a bottle of whiskey inside him.

And by the looks of it Gwaine looked to be well on his way to become totally smashed, that wouldn't do at all, no matter that he was taking advantage of Gwaine's drunkenness he was above seducing people who were truly intoxicated. And Lady Vivi and Lady Sophie were doing nothing but egging Gwaine on to drink more, hoping for a threesome? The Lord knew!

Arthur made sure to fix an unpleasant glare on his face once he was near them, Vivi and Sophie looked at him with ill-concealed awe, and Arthur was not in the mood for being fawned over by his fan club, so he gave no room for questioning as he said "If you ladies would kindly excuse us please, I have business to talk to with Sir Gwaine."

Gwaine was watching all this with a mildly amused smile on his face. How the man could still sit so still after drinking so much was anyone's guess.

Vivi and Sophie sighed an exaggerated sigh before they went away chittering and giggling all the while, shooting coy glances at Gwaine and Arthur and hiding their smirks behind their hands.

Gwaine tsked saying, "Now you've given them something to talk about."

Arthur suppressed a shudder, but of course Vivi and Sophie were the biggest pair of vile gossipers. They were no doubt spreading the news of Arthur's business with Gwaine right that second.

Arthur turned back to look at Gwaine, and doubled back as the man smiled at him guilelessly. He'd made an impulsive choice in the heat of the moment but he'd truly forgotten how roguishly handsome Gwaine was. Standing this close to him, Arthur could see why he was the darling of the ton.

Now, how to go about asking him for a dalliance without being way too obvious about it? Arthur frowned, would grabbing him and making for a room do? Or did he have to put more effort into it than that? Honestly, he'd been out of the dating game for ten damn years, and he was little rusty, to put it mildly. Not that he was ever very good at the dating scene in the first place, a lifetime under Uther Pendragon can do that to you, crippling social awkwardness and all.

"Princess, you look like you're about to burst a blood vessel on me."

Gwaine's voice snapped him out of reverie and he looked up, his lips curving into a bemused smile without his permission, then again this was Gwaine, there was no need for him to be so nervous. He was sure that after five come hither looks, Gwaine would do the asking himself.

So Arthur let his mouth curve up into a smirk as he settled down on a stool, his head reaching up to half way of Gwaine's chest.

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" asked Arthur, Gwaine had fashioned the name for him after a very humiliating incident and more often than not Arthur found himself gritting his teeth whenever Gwaine called him 'Princess', however now it didn't seem to bother him too much.

Gwaine looked at him closely then scrutinizing like he rarely ever bothered to. Maybe he found Arthur's absence of ire at the pet name peculiar or he'd caught on to what Arthur really wanted from him, however, his eyes had that guarded look now that warned Arthur to tread carefully if he didn't want all this to go belly up.

"You seem to be in a good mood today" Gwaine remarked taking a swig from his bottle and gulping down the whiskey, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so, and on to which Arthur's eyes were riveted on.

"You sound surprised" Arthur said turning to the bartender and asking for a vodka neat, which made Gwaine's eyes widen slightly in their sockets.

Gwaine gave him a lopsided grin then and said "Well, you don't exactly have the reputation of leaving the stick in your arse back home when you're partying."

Arthur could take offense to that but instead he said "Can you blame me? I'm married to Merlin!" he exclaimed pointedly before the bartender brought him the whiskey complete with a tiny fairy in wings fluttering around the glass hoping Arthur would leave some left over so that she could partake in the drinking.

Fairies were not given free drinks because they caused mischief whenever they were drunk, well more mischief than was usual for them anyway, like invoking powerful beasts of the old religion that one couldn't exactly kill for example. Fairies were also not allowed to buy alcohol unless they had the permission of the All Council of Magical Creatures, so they were reduced to waiting for scraps from benevolent sorcerers and humans whenever they wanted to drink anything remotely alcoholic.

Gwaine snorted and said "If anything I'd think being married to Merlin would have helped to take the stick permanently out of your arse."

Gwaine laughed but Arthur refused to join in the mirth this time and took a sip of his vodka, turning away from Gwaine and surveying the partying guests blindly, obviously Merlin was absent, he considered most mundane things like parties beneath him.

"Wow…" Gwaine's voice made Arthur turn around back to him, and he found himself pinned by two brown eyes with naked concern obvious in them, and Arthur felt a sharp pang of guilt going through him as he thought of how he was obviously manipulating Gwaine into this scheme.

"Things are that bad uh?" Gwaine asked with surprising amount of sensitivity in his tone that it stumped Arthur for a minute, this would have been so much easier if Gwaine really was the uncaring prick some people who didn't know him made him out to be, but unfortunately Arthur knew otherwise.

It was only then that Arthur noticed that his eyes were glassy and he was blinking profusely to stop the tears that wanted to fall, he turned away again trying to regain some sense of composure, he did not want Gwaine to pity him of all things!

He clenched his jaw as he felt Gwaine sliding down from the bar table to sit next to Arthur, their thighs brushing together through their pants as he did so making a shiver race through Arthur's spine at the contact, God he'd gone without for entirely too long if this is how a simple contact with another person made him feel.

"Look at you, making me positively gloomy, you've lost your touch Gwaine."

"I have not!" Gwaine thankfully took the diversion route Arthur was excruciatingly offering, thumping the bar table hard and asking for another bottle.

Arthur left a small amount remaining in his glass for the fairy who'd been whirling about with an eye for his cup the entire time. He gestured with his hands for her to have at it, as he turned back to Gwaine and asked "So when did you come back from Mercia?"

Gwaine was one of the branch of the Anglican Military forces called Realm Protectors whose main job was to keep invaders and hostile foreigners and creatures outside of the British Isles.

"About a week ago, Mercia gets tiresome this time of the year."

"Why because all the bars are closed down?"

"That and it's almost impossible to find a bed warmer there in the winter" Gwaine winked and then added, "All the good ones are long gone by the time winter approaches."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Figures that would put a considerable dent in your services."

"Obviously, my services are much more wanted here." Gwaine winked exaggeratedly again and Arthur found himself laughing involuntarily as Gwaine pointed with no subtlety whatsoever at Vivi and Sophie who were still eyeing them from where they were sitting together on a dining table.

"You do realize Lady Vivian is engaged to wed Valiant?"

"All the more reason for me to offer my services freely, no one deserves to marry that ogre, not even Viv."

"Well I'm sure you're altruistic character is very much appreciated, what a martyr you are!" Arthur's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

And Gwaine responded in kind, "I do what I must do for the general population of the realm."

He said it with such a straight face that Arthur burst out laughing again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had fun just talking and laughing with someone.

And propelled by liquid courage and perhaps the moment of levity Arthur asked "Are your services limited to the general population, or would you offer them to erstwhile Princes with sticks up their arses?"

Gwaine's face changed from obvious mirth to obvious trepidation and he instead of answering took a swig from his bottle, which made Arthur wish he had a glass of his own just so he wouldn't have to feel so awkward and rejected.

"Look Arthur…"

"No forget I asked anything, it was out of bounds."

Gwaine tsked again and said "You're problem was always talking before listening."

"So now you're chastising me on top of rejecting me? Thanks for that Gwaine, I got the message loud and clear, I'll" Arthur stopped when he felt Gwaine's hands take a firm hold of his thigh and squeeze, his thumb made slight circles on the sensitive skin on the inner side of his thigh and Arthur just about prevented himself from jumping a feet or two into the air at the shock and arousal that rippled through his body at that single small touch.

"It's not that I don't want to"

Arthur frowned, really? Was Gwaine trying to give him that speech now?

"Gods Arthur, have you looked at yourself, no one would not want to with you…"

Gwaine's thumb was still making circles and the pressure of his hand still remained making Arthur's blood rush to his cheeks at how obvious they were being, and how much this was going to embarrass Merlin, hopefully he'd stop ignoring when Arthur demanded something from him next time.

"But Merlin is a friend, and I really don't fancy my chances with the most powerful warlock of our time for pissing him off."

"That is your concern?" Arthur asked dubiously, and when Gwaine looked piqued Arthur said "Merlin couldn't care less about who I dally with, he couldn't care less about me period."

Gwaine narrowed his eyes and frowned, "That…is not exactly true Princess."

"Oh please, you pretend to know my husband better than I do, do you know how long it's been since Merlin last deigned to even be in the same room with me?"

When Gwaine looked gob smacked Arthur continued on, "Ten years! That's how long it's been, so don't tell me that he's going to care if I have someone on the side. After all he does it with Mordred and I don't bother him about it!"

Gwaine's eyes widened in genuine shock as his eyes searched the crowd and found Mordred, conglomerating as usual with Edwin and Alvarr, two of the most notorious magicians suspected for use of the Dark Arts.

"Who said that to you? Merlin's not the type to" Gwaine only got that far before Arthur laughed outright in his face humorlessly.

"Know Merlin well do you? How long have you been gone from here now? Four years?"

"Five actually" Gwaine said slowly, and then took another swig of the liquor he was holding in his hand, his ever constant companion in life, as it seemed to everyone around Gwaine.

"Then you can stop presuming to know things that you don't, especially about Merlin" Arthur finished, his head starting to feel a little woozy from the effects of the alcohol.

Gwaine was silent then for a whole minute, Arthur would have left thinking he was barking up the wrong tree if it weren't for the fact that Gwaine's hand was still firmly on his thigh. And now that same hand was moving up and down caressing slowly.

"So…you want to sleep with me to get back at Merlin?" Gwaine said finally, his face held a troubled expression even as his hands climbed higher, so Arthur wasn't sure if he'd gotten entirely through to him yet, who knew seducing Gwaine would be this hard?!

Arthur gave Gwaine his one of his most winning smiles and asked "Does it matter why? You want me, I want you…its very simple."

Arthur was bluffing of course, and Gwaine was smart enough to know it, if Gwaine called his bluff now Arthur would just have to leave.

Arthur waited as Gwaine's index finger grazed the material of his suit pants right in between his legs, only to retreat teasingly back.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Gwaine asked his voice dropping a few octaves and Arthur cheered inside as he gave back a coy smirk.

"I thought you'd never ask"

He grabbed onto Gwaine's wandering hand and dragged him hand in hand up the staircase in full view of the whole of magical and mundane nobility alike. Down somewhere Arthur could see Gwen and Lancelot shaking their heads in dismay; well let them, he was done being an obedient little puppet.

* * *

Gwen groaned, her face twisted into an expression of utter embarrassment as she muttered, "Oh God Lance, what are we going to do? Did Arthur have to make such a public spectacle out of this?! I was supposed to prevent this exact thing from happening!"

Lance who could never resist comforting his beloved wife when she was anxious said soothingly, "Don't worry about it Gwen, everything will be fine."

Gwen then turned on him, her face apoplectic, "Everything is not going to be fine Lance! I wish for once you'd not be such a pacifier, this is catastrophic! This is a disaster, and Morgana trusted me to…"

"Relax Gwen, Merlin will take care of it."

Gwen was out of breath with her ranting when she stopped, "Merlin?" she asked confused, "Merlin? Merlin doesn't even know what's going on, how is he going to…" the whole of the gathered assembly quietened, eerie pin dropped silence, and Gwen slowly turned to see what had caused all the chittering to stop to see the man himself making his way in, the crowed parting for him like the red sea. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed and then covered her mouth as her remark caused a Pandora's box to open and everyone around her started chattering away loudly.

To his credit, Merlin didn't even flinch once as he approached them both with a stiff ramrod straight back, making a cutting figure in his dark navy suit bringing out the intensity in his blue eyes as he fixed them both with a stare that was most apathetic.

"Where is he?" he addressed the question to Lance as Gwen squeaked a little and her face morphed into an expression of consternation as Lance pointed upwards and said "In one of the guest rooms I'd think."

Merlin's face didn't change except for a slight crinkling of his left brow which could mean anything from mildly irritated to exceptionally outraged. Gwen hoped, for Arthur's sake, that it was the former. Because no one in their right mind ever wanted to piss off Merlin and live to see it. His power was terrible and great.

Gwen almost fainted right there except Lance's steadying hand brought her back to the earth as she saw Merlin climbing the staircase, she realized something then and turned to Lance, her eyes as sharp as daggers, "You told him!"

Lance looked contrite and refused to meet her eyes, and for the first time in all her living life Gwen shook off his hand and said "I need a drink" as she stumbled away from him. She wanted to run up, warn Arthur, but she knew nothing could stand in the way of Merlin, so she resigned herself to drinking and brooding and glaring at Lance at regular intervals.

* * *

Merlin sucked his lips in as he quietly observed the spectacle in front of him, no wonder, no wonder at all that Arthur had decided to retaliate in this most underhanded of ways. No doubt, everyone downstairs thought Merlin a fool who was being cuckolded by his husband. Him; The All Powerful Merlin was being cheated on like he was some common third order sorcerer and not the most powerful magician to have ever walked the earth.

Now he was pragmatic where marital vows were concerned, no one, and he meant no one ever wanted to promise monogamy to anyone else. That included him, so he didn't expect Arthur to not have lovers, he'd be surprised if Arthur didn't actually, but he did expect something called discretion. After all, he never shamed Arthur in this manner.

The soft click of the door and the rooms extra occupant had not registered to either of the room's occupants, Merlin wasn't called the best sorcerer of the realm for no reason. He could be totally invisible if he wanted to.

He didn't expect Gwaine to be Arthur's choice, that rankled, not that he cared about who Arthur dallied with or anything, because he'd found out long ago that caring for Arthur was too great a task even for a great warlock like him. Arthur drove him absolutely mental most times, as he'd discovered early on in their marriage.

They were both on the four poster bed richly covered in dark blue silk sheets with golden threaded embroidery in the draping's, Arthur was on his back, hair mussed, shirt thrown on the floor, the muted yellow light shining and showing off his rippled chest with every exhale and moan that broke free unrestrained from his lips.

Merlin clenched his jaw, well, well, well, wasn't this night just full of surprises, it seemed his surly husband was only surly in the sack with Merlin, he had no problem responding to Gwaine's every touch and kiss, hell the sounds he was making now bordered on positively obscene.

Gwaine for his part was also shirtless marking and mapping Arthur's body with his teeth and hands, he alternated between sucking on Arthur's dusky nipple and biting the skin below the areola, his hands roamed freely, through the sides of Arthur's chest, one finger dipping into his navel and then insinuating both hands underneath and squeezing Arthur's butt cheeks, making Arthur release a loud groan that had Merlin gritting his teeth, no doubt cracking all his enamel.

It seemed the groan broke all of Gwaine's control and he quickly stripped Arthur off his trousers and pants and turned him over to lay on his front, his naked arse now visible to both his and Merlin's feasting eyes.

And Arthur, the absolutely defiant bitch of a Prince Arthur, was surrendering as easily as molten butter. What the actual fuck? Was he that desperate for a child that he'd go so easily with the nearest cad available and offer himself like a sacrifice on a Stonehenge?

And Gwaine! He was Merlin's friend! At least Merlin had thought he was, the same Gwaine who was sitting on his haunches now staring at Arthur's white fleshy arse cheeks with naked lust and appreciation obvious in his eyes, soon he couldn't contend with staring and he brought his hands out to grab only to find himself being flung through the air and smashing against the opposite wall.

Merlin took off the disillusionment and stood glaring at Arthur, his eyes the color of burnished gold. Arthur looked shocked, as did Gwaine who was still suspended hanging halfway from the floor pinned to the wall.

Merlin released the bindings, and Gwaine fell to the floor with a thump, Arthur momentarily stunned seemed to recover his senses, he shouted "MERLIN!" his voice high and keening and little breathless from his obvious exertion just a few minutes ago.

Gwaine picked himself up off the floor and stood, not making a move to leave the room, instead standing defiant and tall and crossing his arms.

Merlin got the message, and remarked lightly, "Well this is surprising, I didn't realize you two had become closer." If Arthur had feelings for Gwaine, and Gwaine reciprocated them then this was going to be a lot messier and harder than what it was now.

But how had Arthur had correspondence with Gwaine when Merlin knew he'd been in Mercia for five long years? Merlin knew for a fact Arthur never left Camelot in the last decade, preferring to lick his wounds and nurse his injured pride in the very castle they had lost.

"We aren't"

"GET OUT MERLIN!"

That was Arthur, his voice still screechy but only with an edge of panic in them too now.

And Merlin couldn't possibly imagine that Arthur was much afraid of him, hell Arthur lived to make Merlin's life miserable, he'd been warned, long ago, that that was what marriage was supposed to entail, but it was Arthur who had cemented that belief without a shred of doubt for Merlin. So what was Arthur afraid of that he looked now like a deer caught in head lights?

"Is that anyway to greet your husband Artie?" Merlin used the nick name knowing it irritated Arthur to no end when he did that.

"Didn't you hear me the first time you moron? I SAID GET OUT!"

Gwaine winced, and Merlin shot a stinging hex that hit Arthur in his nipples making him yelp out loud in pain and cover the already bruised area with a look of utter disdain at Merlin.

It was testament to how much the years had softened Merlin that he felt guilty for about a millisecond for that. Then again Arthur always had the capability to make Merlin feel an excessive amount of vexation, for a human with no power whatsoever, Arthur was all too competent in annoying Merlin with a million different insults and barely veiled barbs.

Gwaine spoke for the first time then, speaking to Arthur he said "I think I should go, will you be alright?"

"No don't, don't Gwaine, MERLIN HERE WAS JUST LEAVING, WEREN'T YOU MERLIN?" Arthur's eyes warned Merlin of an imminent fist fight should he refuse to obey him, but Arthur tended to forget like always that he was never the one in charge anymore, if he ever was.

Did he really believe Merlin was going to be cowed by the threat of a measly little punch that Merlin had allowed him once, long ago only because he wanted Arthur to feel like he could withstand at least a little against Merlin's power. Merlin wanted to give him that illusion, so Arthur could come to trust him in time, but as he'd been proved, that had never come to pass.

"I'm not going anywhere Arthur, I can't allow you to sire a bastard child at my expense."

"What?"

It was Gwaine's shocked voice that pierced the silence and as he looked gravely at Arthur, Arthur turned away refusing to meet Gwaine's eyes.

Ah! So that was why Arthur was all fidgety and wanted Merlin to leave, he hadn't even seen the need to inform Gwaine of his scheme.

"I take it you didn't know that you were in essence just about to become a donor for Arthur."

Gwaine looked at Merlin then and after a minute he slowly shook his head, "No…no I wasn't, Arthur…is that true?"

Arthur refused to look at Gwaine or Merlin, he sat, looking down at the bedding and keeping his jaw shut tight.

Merlin searched, and a minute later a glass vial whizzed through the air from one of the pockets in Arthur's trousers, and Merlin caught it with his hands. The luminous sky blue potion inside was all too telling, and Gwaine's shoulders slumped.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong with you both, but that was a really low thing for you to do Arthur."

"Gwaine I'm…" Arthur looked up, his eyes suddenly misting, "I'm sorry…I wasn't…I wasn't going to use it tonight, I swear."

Gwaine crossed his arms again, "Guess I'll have to take your word for it eh? Were you even going to tell me that you had that with you?"

"Obviously not" Merlin interrupted before Arthur could say anything and then he said "I'd love to have a chat and all Gwaine, but pressing circumstances see…so…"

A second later Gwaine was outside the closed door with all his belongings, meeting a nervous and shaky Gwen who had been waiting outside all this time wondering if there was going to be a murder tonight, and if she was inadvertently responsible for it.

"What happened? Is Arthur okay? What did Merlin do? Please tell me he isn't hurting Arthur, or is Arthur hurting him? Oh my God, Morgana is going to be so furious! They are going to kill each other!" Gwen blabbered on.

Inside Merlin gave Arthur a moment to compose himself before he seated himself in an armchair close to the room's fireplace.

"Are you done brooding? Shall we get back to business then?" he asked.

A pillow smacked him right in his forehead hard, and a fruit bowl followed which Merlin stopped in its projectile just in time before it hit him. And before he could blink Arthur was on him, and Merlin's jaw bloomed with pain as it was turned forcefully to the left with Arthur's blow.

Ah! Arthur was also known for being a hot head who spoke more often with fists than words.

Merlin should have expected this really, with a belligerent wave of his hands Merlin bound Arthur's hands and legs together leaving him toppling to the floor as he lost balance.

Merlin stood cradling his jaw wondering why he ever put up with all this abuse from Arthur. He could just as well have let Arthur succeed with Gwaine, and then executed both Arthur and his child according to the laws because Arthur had committed high treason, he could have exiled Arthur and his child making sure their lives were hard with no help extended to them, but here he was running behind Arthur, ready to capitulate to Arthur's demands yet again for Arthur's own good.

It made him angry.

Incredibly angry that for all the power that he had, he could still not cast Arthur out and be done with that.

He couldn't even bring himself to punish Arthur for all the insults and impudence.

Arthur glared defiantly from the floor wriggling in the bonds that restrained him, huffing and puffing with every failed try to release himself.

It was only then that Merlin realized he wasn't having his ears bleed out with Arthur's screeching, the spell had taken his voice too. Arthur wasn't going to be happy when Merlin lifted the spell. And here he was thinking Arthur wasn't, Arthur was again.

"Listen carefully now and stop wriggling, you know you can't get out of them, you're only making yourself look ridiculous."

Arthur glared but did stop wriggling inside the bonds.

"Since you've yet again proved that you can think only of what you want, and would in fact go to any stupid lengths to get what you want, without the slightest consideration to who you are hurting in the process I've decided to give you what you want after all."

When Arthur shook his head and started struggling again, Merlin leaned down with a menacing look in his eyes and held Arthur's chin tightly enough to hurt.

"The people are lucky in that at least one of us values peace and prosperity between magicians and civilians. If you dare sire a bastard child Arthur, I'll make sure you rue the day you were born. I'll separate the child from you and exile it to live a hard life in the Pits of Ieidensith, and you I will have arrested and stripped off all property. Imagine what that'd do your ailing father and Morgana and make a wise decision."

Merlin let go of Arthur's chin, the burning hatred in Arthur's eyes made a compressing weight press against his chest and he turned to avoid looking at Arthur.

He released the spell and the first thing he heard was Arthur's hoarse voice proclaim, "You're a bastard….I hate you."

"Well that feeling's mutual so we have something in common at least" Merlin snapped and walked towards the bed and sat down on it, pulling off his shoes and socks, and throwing off his suit jacket, waiting for Arthur's choice.

"If you hate me then why can't you let me go? Annul the marriage! We'll go our separate ways, I'll never bother you again…"

Arthur was still sitting on the floor with only his shirt on, which was loose and unbuttoned and failed to cover anything.

Merlin put his head in his hands and groaned, partially to show how frustrated he was, and partially to not have to look at the sight of Arthur's muscled powerful legs.

"You know that is not possible, I've told you a million times a union under the laws of the High Elf Council can never be broken. If we did, you would die."

"I can't help thinking it wouldn't be so bad to be dead rather than have to live with you!"

The arrows from Arthur would never cease, Merlin understood, but that didn't mean every time it didn't poke at a wound so raw, every time Arthur just rubbed salt into it.

"I gather you don't want the child after all" Merlin said standing up and draping his jacket back on, "I meant what I said before, next time I won't be here to prevent you from making the mistake, and I'll just let you face the music."

Merlin socks and shoes did themselves up as he sat down and he left the room, his hand upon the door knob when Arthur said "Wait."

Merlin's shoulders tensed and he sensed Arthur moving and the bed sheets rustling before he heard, "I do want the child, I'm doing this only because I want a child and if I ever had a choice it wouldn't be you being the father."

Merlin closed his eyes and thought about whether this was really worth it for a moment, maybe he should petition the Elf Council, maybe against all odds he could prevent Arthur from dying, maybe, just maybe there was another way.

Instead, he found himself turning around to be greeted with Arthur's naked back lying on the center of the bed and despite all this time, he felt a shock of lust rush through his spine making him hard instantly, he must be a masochist, for letting Arthur get to him this way.

Merlin's magic divested him of all his clothes on the way to the bed, and Merlin climbed in from behind as always to his stiff and unresponsive husband.

Arthur, just to drive Merlin's frustration to infinity had a gorgeous body that filled out in all the right places, he was broad, muscled, with a fat arse just begging to be touched, grabbed and licked. But of course Merlin did none of these, Arthur'd made it very clear, right from the start, how much of a burden this was to him, how much he was disgusted with an age old sorcerer touching him in that way, how much reluctant it made Merlin to ever touch beyond anything absolutely necessary.

So Merlin made sure to keep his hands as much to himself as possible, he let his magic do all the preparation as he incanted a spell and saw Arthur's hole slicking up and wetting the bed.

Today however, he couldn't do this clinically without any sort of attachment or feeling to it. So he made an impulsive move, grabbed Arthur's chin lightly this time, and before Arthur could screech bloody murder, he slowly tipped the blue potion into Arthur's mouth, watching Arthur's lips the entire time.

Once that was done, Arthur turned away from him and lay face down on the pillow. That was all the consent he bothered to give.

So Merlin checked just once with his fingers to see if Arthur was sufficiently lubricated, and that he wouldn't be hurting Arthur before he positioned himself and sank slowly in. He always always felt a perverse sense of guilt whenever he had to do this, and he hated it almost as much as Arthur seemed to and always made every effort to finish quick. Arthur made not a sound, as usual, whereas just an hour before he was moaning and whining for Gwaine, the thought made Merlin go harder, becoming savage for once when he never lost control with Arthur before.

A surprised gasp escaped from Arthur's mouth but Merlin paid no mind to it as he pumped in and out, harsh and dirty and quick, and before long he was finished feeling an intense sense of relief when it was over. He quickly pulled himself away, dressed methodically, the crawling sense of shame that always accompanied sleeping with Arthur making him want to flee.

"How do I know if it worked?"

Merlin turned already dressed completely to see Arthur sitting up on the bed, covers pulled up to hide his nudity, and looking at Merlin with apathy.

Merlin cleared his throat and said "Go check with Gaius tomorrow, he could perform a revealing spell to know if it worked."

Merlin turned around to leave once again but Arthur's urgent voice made him stop yet again.

"And if it didn't?"

Merlin's hand was on the door knob and he turned it, "If it didn't, we'll try again" he said before exiting the room hoping to All the Elves of Vanyrian that his seed took tonight so he wouldn't have to force himself on Arthur ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER - 4

"Well?" Arthur asked, his eyes wide with trepidation, feeling the chilly air making his skin break into goosebumps as he sat on the sterile examination table, waiting anxiously for Gaius' test result.

Gaius pursed his lips and Arthur sighed knowing the answer before he said anything, he was just that expressive, the old physician.

"GREAT!" Arthur exclaimed feeling at once like he wanted to shatter something or bellow that it was unfair, why couldn't it have worked?

"It's only the first try Arthur, same sex couples hardly ever conceive right on the first try" Gaius explained his tone patient but with a hint of chastisement.

"You don't understand Gaius, this means I have to sleep with him again!"

Gaius didn't comment and looked very uncomfortable indeed with Arthur's proclamation, so Arthur moved on to asking, "How long does it usually take for a same sex couple to conceive?"

Gaius's face was twisted in consternation and Arthur knew he was not going to like the answer to that, "Usually same sex couples have to try for at least a month or longer before conception occurs, it's the nature of the fertility potion…the time has to be just right arithmancically for it to work."

"WHAT? A MONTH?" Arthur said horrified and rightly so, a month? A month? A month of having to subject himself to the torture of sex with Merlin?

"NO! There must be a faster way Gaius!" Arthur implored and Gaius carefully moved out the fundus he used to examine patients out of Arthur's reach, lest Arthur try to throw it at a monitor or two. Gaius' equipment was rather pricey.

Gaius' tone was wretchedly resolute as he said "I'm afraid there is no other way Arthur; you could always have a child later, or adopt one instead."

Arthur slumped on top of the table, he didn't want either option. It's not like he hadn't considered all those options before, hell he'd been ready to throw everything away and sleep with any man he fancied if it would give him a child of his own and he didn't want to stop now.

But that didn't mean he wanted to be facing Merlin again so soon.

* * *

"Enter" Merlin said in reply to the knock he distinctly identified as Freya's.

And sure enough Freya entered and bowed cordially before she stood up straight.

Merlin waited, wondering what she had to say, he was reading an account made by a very well-known scholar Askanar on the gateway to the spirit world and so he failed to notice her dithering at first.

He put away the manuscript once he noticed her fidgeting nervously, Freya was never nervous without a proper reason.

He gave her his full attention then and asked "What is it Freya?"

Freya grimaced before she pulled out a missive, with the broken seal of House Pendragon on the envelope.

Merlin had asked Freya to long ago open every mail sent by anyone from House Pendragon, one because he didn't want to be bothered incessantly by Morgana's tirades to treat her brother right, two because he wasn't sure yet if Arthur wasn't still trying to assassinate him, and he knew certain human diseases, like anthrax, could be made to spread through envelopes.

Not that he couldn't protect himself from nefarious assassination plots with magic, but still it was a pesky thing to be bothered by when one was immortal.

Besides Freya needed the training.

"I think you had better read this Merlin."

She said it solemnly, and Merlin sat up straight and extended his hands for the envelope.

She was the only apprentice/assistant that he had who had not tried to swoon all over him, or joined the position as part of some world domination scheme. So he was greatly appreciative of her services.

The missive was dismissively short and rude. Merlin needed no guesses on who had written it.

It said this much.

' _I want you to come to Camelot to see me. There is something important I wish to discuss with you. Do show up without an entourage of magicians, you need not worsen my father's health more than it already is.'_

' _I want you to come'_ Merlin read out loud while Freya looked sheepish, he continued saying, "Not, can you please be so kind as to come, or even I kindly request you pay me a visit, no, no, because it always has to be a demand. Come here to see me _, I_ wish to discuss something so you had better hurry up and turn up! _And don't you dare turn up with sorcerers,_ because my dear dad would freak out! Never mind that he's asking me to come to the same palace where thousands upon thousands of magicians were put to death by the same deranged man he calls father."

Freya was hiding her smiling face behind one of her hands.

"You find this amusing!" Merlin said sullenly.

Freya, the goddamn traitor actually giggled.

And when Merlin pouted she said "Oh come on, there's no one in the Great Anglican Realm who gets so under your skin like Lord Pendragon."

"That's Lord Emrys now, and he doesn't get under my skin."

Freya just gave him a pointed look at that and Merlin frowned, he looked back at the missive and wondered aloud, "I wonder what it could be this time…" he scratched his ears by habit and Freya's lips quirked up in a sign of honest affection for this warlock who had all the power anyone could want in the world, and yet be so clueless about it.

"Well, thankyou for delivering this Freya, you can go now" Merlin said before he took Askanar's manuscript back again and opened it to the page he'd been perusing.

Freya cleared her throat, and when Merlin looked up she said slowly but firmly, "Shouldn't you be going to see what the matter is with your spouse?"

Merlin put the manuscript back down, knowing Freya wouldn't leave without a good explanation on his part.

"Arthur's just being dramatic as usual, I've no doubt it's something paltry and it can wait."

"He might be ill, or otherwise gravely need you for something. Lord Pendragon never writes missives to you unless it is absolutely the last option he's got."

And didn't Merlin know it?

Had it worked? Is that what Arthur wanted to say to him?

Truthfully Merlin didn't know what he'd do if Arthur had conceived a child. He'd just caved into Arthur's demands without thinking much about the consequences, good lord, a child, a real, living, miniature human being, but not quite, as any child of Merlin would have magic and be a dragon lord.

Would it have his coloring? Or Arthur's? Personally he wanted the child to inherit Arthur's glowing golden skin instead of his pasty complexion. Would it have his deep blue eyes? Or Arthur's lighter clear summer sky color? Would it be flaxen haired like Arthur? Or raven haired like him? And by the word, what were they going to do if it turned out to be a girl child? Neither of them had a clue about women!

Unless you counted Morgana for Arthur, which Merlin didn't!

"Hellooo…MERLIN, are you still here?"

Merlin snapped out of his trance and looked at Freya again. He couldn't tell her anything about it, not yet.

In truth, he was just terrified of what he'd do if Arthur had actually conceived his child. He was just dallying because he didn't want to face it, he wasn't ready to face it.

"I am, you're not going to let me be unless I pop in to see him, are you?"

Freya gave a small smile which to any outsider might seem like she was being complacent and agreeing when it was just the opposite.

So Merlin got up, placed the manuscript decidedly down on the table, giving it a look of longing before he waved at Freya and pulled up the co-ordinates for Camelot Castle in his mind for teleportation.

His surroundings blurred and a kaleidoscope of sceneries and places passed in front of his mind's eye before he found his vision clearing and he opened his eyes to find himself, thankfully in Arthur's bed chambers.

The last time he'd popped up in the King's council chamber with Uther present, and suffice to say, it didn't end well for him or Uther.

Merlin heard voices, mainly Arthur's and a woman's voice he identified as Morgana's, and though knowing it was unseemly to eavesdrop Merlin cast a disillusionment spell on himself and observed from behind the four poster bed.

Arthur was bathing behind the dressing screen and Morgana was sitting on one of the chairs arranged around his dining table.

"I just don't see how I can put up with it for a month Morgana!" Arthur screeched as always, Merlin rolled his eyes silently.

"Well I'd think that was the exiting part about this whole ridiculous deal Arthur. If you'd stop being a pansy and just learn to enjoy it…"

"ENJOY IT? With Merlin? Are you insane?"

Merlin was beginning to think he should have revealed himself instead of snooping.

"Why not? He's a sorcerer Arthur, and they are notorious for being very notorious in the sack!"

"Not Merlin…trust me I know."

"Really? So all those gossip about his virility and wild magical orgies are just mill fodder?"

"Precisely" Arthur said derisively and Merlin's ego smarted despite himself, oh how he would like to make Arthur fucking scream for him! Merlin could make Arthur so incoherent that he had trouble articulating himself to be so damn irritating all the time!

"I don't know Arthur, I still think there's something you must be doing wrong….did you never feel any pleasure from your couplings?"

Arthur came around the dressing screen with only a fluffy towel wrapped around his waist, torso dripping with water, making Merlin's fist clench on instinct.

"Merlin's never bothered to care to pleasure me."

 _Well, not when you're looking at me like I'm the worst scoundrel who is for all intents and purposes raping someone against their will!_ Merlin thought savagely.

"And I don't think he'd be very good at it either, all this magic hocus pocus and multiple orgasms is just bull shit magicians must spout to make everyone think they are superior to the rest of us in yet another way!"

"But Merlin is the Greatest Warlock of our times" Morgana said imperiously and Merlin preened inwardly.

"Please….I'm sure that is bull shit too, I'll bet someday Mordred and his bunch are going to overthrow him. Merlin is an old coot who cares only for sticking his nose into his books, he may have been powerful once to be seen as a legend, but I hardly think he strikes fear into his enemies now."

Merlin gritted his teeth and bore the insults with a satanic rage building inside him. If only, if only Arthur knew the terrible extent of his power. Mordred, Arthur thought Mordred was a match for him? He could squeeze and squish Mordred and tamp him down under his feet any time! And he did so much more than stick his nose in his books all the time, if Arthur only ever happened to see him reading then it was because he couldn't stand to hear Arthur's voice and found a distraction every time in the way of burying his head inside a book and hoping Arthur would dematerialize out of thin air.

Merlin almost waved his hand away to dissipate the spell when he heard Morgana saying "You won't be foolish enough to find someone like Gwaine again, will you?"

He paused, despite himself he wanted to hear the answer.

Arthur snorted, humorlessly.

"Not unless I want to see you and my father exiled. Merlin was very clear about me not foisting a bastard child on him."

"Well, can you blame him?"

"OF COURSE I CAN!" Arthur snapped waving his hands about and becoming positively red as a tomato. "I wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for the fact that I was forced to marry the bastard!"

Morgana sighed, and from his vantage point Merlin could see her clearly rolling her eyes at Arthur's tantrum, "The Elf Council forced you both Arthur, it wasn't Merlin, I doubt Merlin wanted to marry you anymore than you wanted to marry him."

 _ALAS! Someone was speaking some sense into Arthur's thick pretty head!_

Arthur frowned and muttered, "Semantics Morgana, doesn't change the fact that I'm the one who has to…."

Arthur waved his hands again, and Morgana gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You mean he never…" Morgana said tentatively and Merlin felt his own face heating up, thinking about how his bedroom habits with Arthur which was pretty much non-existent was being dragged out into the light, with Arthur casting him in an entirely boorish light.

Arthur snorted again.

"What do you think? That someone like him is going to roll over if I ask him to?"

"Jesus Arthur, did you ever try asking him?"

Arthur looked at Morgana like she was insane, and rightly so, Merlin was never going to trust Arthur enough to roll over for him, the bastard tried to kill him seven times after they'd been married.

"We don't exactly have conversations about it Morgana!"

"Why not?"

"Why would we?!"

"No wonder you aren't enjoying it Arthur, he's your husband, for eternity, it would be a lot better on you if you try to accept that fact."

"Well then why didn't you just marry him? I'm sure you both would have been a lot happier!" Arthur barked, and Morgana drew back like she'd been slapped. Arthur had after all taken her place and sacrificed himself, so that she may be free to live her life on her own terms.

"I'm sorry" Arthur then said noticing the stricken expression on her face, "I didn't mean that, I'm just not thrilled about my predicament and I took it out on you, I'm sorry Morgana."

 _AND he was capable of apologizing, huh!_

Morgana stood up from where she was sitting and held Arthur's hands in hers, Merlin had to strain to hear what she was saying.

"I just worry about you Arthur, you deserve to be happy."

"I will be. Once I'm through with this ordeal and I have my child" Arthur said with a self-assured nod to himself, Morgana looked doubtful but released Arthur's hands and stepped back.

Merlin deflated at that, it had worked, Arthur had conceived a child with him. Merlin cursed in seven different tongues and chastised himself for his stupidity.

Once Morgana was out the door, Merlin waved his charm away and appeared in front of Arthur, who stumbled back in shock.

Ah, Merlin had never stopped enjoying that stumped look on Arthur's face whenever he materialized like this.

"MERLIN! What are you doing here?"

Merlin tilted his head and slowly said "I thought you wanted me to come here, I received a missive today, and no one in the entire kingdom is capable of that much rudeness except you."

Arthur's eyes narrowed but he didn't otherwise comment, then his eyes widened when he realized something and he pointed an index finger accusingly, "How long have you been eavesdropping on us?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just now came here." Merlin gave Arthur his most innocent expression and Arthur frowned in doubt before he sat down in one of his dining chairs, not asking Merlin to sit.

Merlin sat anyway, making sure to be as far away from Arthur as possible, his jaw still smarted from Arthur's punch the other night and he intended to avoid all shooting projectiles thrown his way today.

"It didn't work"

Merlin sucked in a breath sharply, intense relief flooded his chest at that and he relaxed back into his chair.

He was sure Arthur would give up after a couple of tries and then they could both put this nonsense to rest. Neither of them were capable of rearing a child.

Merlin clapped his hands together then and said "I presume you want to give another go at this? Is that why you called me here?"

"Not quite Merlin" Arthur said hesitantly.

He'd given up already? Well wasn't this turning out to be a good day! Merlin prevented himself from smiling in satisfaction as he saw Arthur obviously stalling, any minute now he'd say it wasn't worth the trouble and Merlin could be free to go back and peruse Askanar's tomes in no time at all.

He waited.

"Gaius…" Arthur began slowly, "Gaius believes that conception for a same sex couple is a little difficult to achieve rather than heterosexual couples…"

 _Hmm, it seemed Gaius was instrumental in making Arthur change his mind! Merlin had to go thank Gaius personally for that!_

"He believes that it takes at least a month for a same sex couple to conceive and…and clarified that we have to in essence do it for a month."

' _Oh hoh! No wonder Arthur was giving up! A month? No way!'_

But Merlin found it alarming when Arthur got his 'bull' expression on his face, that hard, determined look of a trained warrior, and he knew before Arthur said anything, that he was fucked.

"So I wish you to stay in Camelot with me for until we succeed in conceiving a child."

Merlin felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on to his head, and he rose from the table, "NO!" he shouted turning around and looking at Arthur with a thunderous expression on his face.

Arthur who'd refused to look in Merlin's direction up until now, looked at him in bewilderment now, "What?"

"I said no Arthur, this is madness, and surely even you must see that!" Merlin insisted hotly but in reaction to this Arthur only got indignant.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it is supposed to mean, neither of us are capable of caring for a child, why do you even want one?"

"Speak for yourself Merlin, but don't you presume to know shit about me when you don't!"

Merlin threw his hands in the air and paced back and forth on the floor of Arthur's chambers, "What has gotten into you? Who even gave you this idea in the first place? Do you realize that the child would have magic? Huh? DO YOU?"

Merlin's expression was menacing and he was right in Arthur's face, but Arthur stood his ground and said "Yes I do Merlin" in an icy tone.

Merlin groaned and turned away from him, "You don't know Arthur, you really don't…a child with magic is not easy to rear…"

"Oh and you would know all about child rearing would you?"

"That's exactly it, I don't and neither do you! Where in the world did you get the idea that you could?"

Arthur drew himself up, puffing his chest out, and said "I'm sure it isn't as hard a task, after all I married you and let me tell you nothing else in the world is going to be harder than that."

Merlin huffed, he paced back and forth again while Arthur stood standstill, stiff and proud. Merlin rubbed his fingers through the back of his head wondering why, why was Arthur Pendragon pushing this issue?

He stopped a feet away from Arthur then and asked "Why? Why do you want this?"

Arthur didn't look like he was going to answer for a time but then his expression changed and he looked, for the first time they'd known each other, desperate to Merlin. He wasn'

"My father is ill…I don't know when he's going to leave me, Morgana is going to marry someday and she won't be here either…we can't stand each other…all my friends have their own families…I don't want to be alone forever Merlin."

It was selfish, but that look of utmost despair did it for Merlin, he couldn't let Arthur suffer enough that he looked so starkly depressed, he was already guilty enough about Arthur.

He sighed, "Fine" Merlin said, but if Arthur wanted this so desperately and he was forcing Merlin's hands, then Merlin would be damned if he was going to put himself at Arthur's beck and call in Camelot. If Arthur wanted a child so desperately, then he could come to Avalon Castle.

He said as much to Arthur and Arthur predictably screeched that he was not coming to that infernal cold castle.

"Take it or leave it Arthur, I'm not going to stay here in Camelot so that I could impregnate you, if you want it so much, then you come to Avalon."

"Well then if you don't want to stay here, then just magic yourself here every day for a month and that will be that!"

That kind of statement was testament to how little Arthur knew about magic, even Merlin, All Powerful Warlock did not have the strength to teleport himself every day for a month.

Merlin snorted, "Proves how much you know about magic, despite what they say I'm not God Arthur."

Arthur gave him a pinched look, "I never thought you were God Merlin."

And when Arthur said that, Merlin had no trouble believing him.

They hashed it out for a near hour before Arthur surrendered at last, he'd come to Avalon castle tomorrow.

Merlin puffed out a huge breath of relief once it was over and was just about to leave when Arthur cleared his throat pointedly and said "Since you're here today anyway…"

Merlin felt exhausted just arguing with Arthur all this time and wondered if he really could, at right that moment. He'd faced down kings and mighty magical creatures without breaking a sweat but Arthur…Arthur tired him out just by being in his presence.

Then he remembered Arthur calling him an old relic relegated only to tales around camp fires and nightly legends told to children by middle aged mothers, and drew himself up to stand straighter. A month, a whole month of sex with Arthur, his somewhat delectably built husband, who believed he was as interesting as a Pinocchio puppet in bed.

And since he was essentially forcing Merlin into this, Merlin had no reason whatsoever to not prove every one of Arthur's assumptions about him wrong, starting from this moment.

 _He took a deep breath and languidly strolled up to where Arthur was sitting on his table, looking uncomfortable but determined._

 _He stopped just shy of an inch or two from Arthur and Arthur leaned back automatically as his personal space was infringed upon and breached._

" _If we're doing this, we're doing it my way" Merlin said, dropping his voice an octave, his eyes flared gold and Arthur gasped as he felt the touch of a thousand fingers on his body at once._

 _Just as quick as the feeling came, it disappeared and Arthur moved back further as Merlin drew closer still._

" _I'm not going to fuck you for a month and have you make me feel like the worst knave for it. You wanted this, and heaven help me Arthur but you're going to like it, otherwise I'll be on my way, now."_

 _Arthur gulped but his voice was all bluster and bravado as he quipped "Please Merlin, you're posturing is only making you look more the fool here."_

 _Merlin didn't say anything, just quirked his eyebrows and crossed his arms in front of his chest._

 _Arthur grinned then, nasty and mean and challenging, "Fine, do your worst!"_

 _Merlin smirked, and before Arthur could even comprehend what was happening, he was naked and bent in half over the very table he was sitting on._

" _MERLIN!" Arthur screamed._

 _Merlin laughed into Arthur's ears, licking the shell and dipping his tongue right into Arthur's ear, "That I believe is just the beginning." Arthur found himself unable to move again, and Merlin's entire body was pressing onto him from behind, the fiber of his pants brushing against Arthur's naked skin._

" _You insolent prick! Let me up at once! I am a prince, you can't take me like I'm some common bar wench!"_

" _Mmm, I'm sorry your majesty, what would you like then? To be carried over to the bed bridal style like a damsel? Or perhaps for me to transport us to a bed of flowers in the Palace gardens?"_

 _Merlin was still nipping Arthur's ears, as his hands caressed Arthur's skin, for once taking the time to dip into every curve and savor the feel of Arthur's golden skin in his hands. Arthur stayed silent with great effort, his body; the traitor that it was, was singing with desire with every caress from Merlin's hands._

 _Merlin ran his hands up and down the sensitive skin on the inside of Arthur's thigh, still keeping him bent over the table._

" _But oh see, someone is excited to be taken like a common bar wench after all" Merlin rubbed just the tip of Arthur's hardened cock, thumbing at his slit and moving his finger round and round the head in slow circles._

 _Arthur groaned then, unable to help himself and Merlin chased the sound; that was what he wanted to hear, loud and clear and desperate. He gripped Arthur's cock hard and stroked, his eyes flaring gold and Arthur felt those fingers again._

" _AH!"_

 _Fingers everywhere, some caressing ever so lightly across his jaw, his eyelids, his ear lobe, his neck, some gripping hard, on his thighs, his chest, squeezing his nipples, and some inside him, moving in and out, some dancing across his feet._

" _Ahhh….Merlin….I can't…Merlin…" he felt his orgasm being pulled out of him from his belly to his toes and fingers, he shook with the force of them, his cock pulsing, his channel quaking and contracting, as pulse after pulse of pleasure took him, sweeping him into a high that never seemed to end until he couldn't take it anymore, he heard a scream, somewhere far away and realized in some small corner of his mind that was still working that it must be him._

 _Arthur was so overwhelmed that he slumped when the fingers finally disappeared, along with Merlin's tight grip on his cock which had…._

"MERLIN?! Has one of your concoctions made you insufferably deaf too?"

Merlin snapped back to the present, his pants felt tight and constraining, and he could feel that he was blushing, profusely. Damn it! Why did Arthur have this power over him? He wasn't _that_ beautiful! Not in the least that he should be inspiring day time fantasies suddenly to Merlin, at the merest prospect of sex with him, for a whole month.

How was he going to survive this?

"MERLIN!"

Arthur threw his hands up in the air and huffed exaggeratedly, "I can see that you're in no condition to do anything worthwhile today, go!"

"No Arthur…" great! All he needed to do was give Arthur a reason to really believe he was something of an _old relic._

"JUST GO!" Arthur said, his mouth twisted into an expression of absolute distaste and not even looking at Merlin any more.

And Merlin was too flustered, and too ashamed to argue with Arthur that day, so he concentrated with all his might, and a minute later all Arthur could see was a shimmering spark of dust motes where Merlin had been standing not a minute ago.

Was it just in his mind or had Merlin been blushing? Well whatever, it was a day wasted in a month and a day added to his schedule. A month, with Merlin, Arthur groaned as he closed his eyes and hit the table with his fists.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER - 5**

Cold. That was the only word Arthur could use to describe Avalon Castle. The first time he'd come here as a married man which was only a ruse for the actual position he was in, which was valuable hostage Arthur couldn't understand how anyone could live in such a place as Avalon Castle.

The old building looked in danger of crumbling by a strong blowing wind, it had blocks of stones and entire sections of walls missing, not to mention that its battlements were absolutely useless to mount a defense against any invading enemy.

When he'd pointed this fact out to one of Merlin's advisors they'd simply told him, no one was stupid enough to attack the castle where Emrys lived in.

The priests, druids, elves, dwarves and magicians used that moniker for Merlin most reverently, almost as if he were God himself.

The man behind that name however, was none too impressive, if Arthur said so himself. Merlin, Arthur had no doubt must be at least a century old, if not more and he looked and sounded weary and tired of his lot in life, which was an immortal revered existence until the end of time itself.

And now Arthur was forced to share the same fate, immortality, with Merlin. He didn't want to think about that dreadful thought now so he focused on ordering the palace's staff to take his things up to his rooms and then asked them to inform Merlin that he was here.

When he reached the threshold of his chambers, he stopped hesitating. The room itself wasn't something daunting, it was grandiose enough for a King, had a single drawing room at the center of which there was an arrangement of four well cushioned sofas, surrounding a central wooden table. A fireplace sat behind the sofa and the room had two doors leading into the bedroom and a bathroom.

It was just that the last time he'd left, he'd sworn never to set foot into this infernal place again, and until now he hadn't felt the awning sense of defeat so completely.

When a servant brought his luggage he barked "Where's MERLIN? Did you tell him I'm here?"

The servant, who was a boy barely out of his teens looked frightened and muttered "Another…another servant is informing his majesty of your arrival Lord Pendragon."

Arthur kicked at the leg of the sofa hard, and shouted out "Ask him to come meet me at once! And for God's sake light the fireplace!"

"Yee…yes..yes my Lord" the servant mumbled before scurrying out to do as asked.

As usual Merlin lived to set Arthur's nerves on fire, so he was ignored by his erstwhile husband until it was nearly evening, Arthur's ire climbing steadily with every hour that passed.

So when Merlin finally deigned to come to him what he witnessed was this.

"I told you to unpack my luggage and hang everything in the closet, did I not tell you that specifically Borris?"

To Merlin's knowledge, there was no Borris working in his castle, only a boy named Morris whose mother worked as a cook in the castle and whom Merlin liked very much.

He stopped at the door way signaling George who was standing outside, looking rightly terrified to keep silent with a finger to his mouth.

George's eyes widened in horror but he kept quiet obedient as always.

"Then why are all my clothes put away in this haphazard manner?"

"I…I don't understand my Lord…I put them away in the closet like you asked me to!"

Arthur snorted, and Merlin could hear the derisiveness from where he was standing just behind the door, peaking in slightly so that he could see Arthur's actions.

"You don't understand? You don't understand?" Arthur then pointed frantically at the closet which was open across the room and said "Do you call that putting away?"

Morris, the poor boy, was sweating and looking like he was going to puke and Merlin growled low in his throat Arthur started honest to God screeching.

"Do you not know the meaning of the word order? Look at this, this is chaotic! You've hung all my winter clothes at the back and all my spring ones at the front! And you've hung my ties instead of rolling them and finding a drawer for it! Do you know how much money one of those ties cost? More probably that what that ridiculous old fool is paying you for your abysmal services, you are fired! Get out of my sight and find me a servant who actually knows how to do his goddamn job!"

The fireplace which was burning merrily until then was out like a candle light, a window cracked, Morris had tears in his eyes, Merlin stepped inside the room throwing the door wide open, it hit the wall with a bang that echoed ominously in the room, and Morris gulped when he saw that his master's eyes were a bright burnished gold.

Arthur turned around to look at Merlin and instead of taking note of the dangerous expression on his face Arthur snapped "Ah! Finally decided to grace me with your presence have you?"

Merlin didn't react in the least, his expression was stone cold and he addressed Morris saying "No servants in this household will assist Prince Arthur in any way from this day, am I understood?"

Morris nodded, scared shitless and Merlin waved a hand dismissing him from the room even as Arthur shouted "WHAT?"

Once Morris had vacated the premises, Merlin waved his hand again and the door banged shut ominously again.

And finally Arthur noticed the edge in Merlin's expression and the golden flare to his eyes which suggested he was using magic.

Along with it he felt the pervading cold seep into his bones and make him shiver, was it him or had the room gotten extraordinarily cold all of a sudden?

"What are you doing? Whatever it is, stop it!"

Merlin just narrowed his eyes at Arthur, and took a slow step forward, and then another and another before he was close enough to Arthur for the icy breath coming out of his mouth to touch his skin.

Arthur sucked his dried, cracked and blue lips, but his eyes were still glaring defiantly at Merlin, the command in them yet to ebb away.

"Why are you never afraid of me Arthur?" Merlin asked, honestly perplexed. No one who had witnessed the extent of his power was foolish enough to test him when he was already angry, and yet Arthur pushed and pushed paying nary a thought to his boundaries.

Arthur crossed his arms and demanded again, "Light this fireplace at once! I can't stand this cold!"

Merlin quirked his lips, "I believe I asked you a question"

"And I believe I asked you to stop the gimmicks, why would I be afraid of a pathetic man like yourself? Without your gimmicks you account to nothing!"

"AH!" Merlin drew back as if he comprehended, "You think having magic makes a man pathetic."

"And corrupt, vile, ignoble…"

"Oh and mortal men are never corrupt, vile, ignoble, are they? Tell me….what you were doing to Morris now, would you call that noble?"

Arthur floundered.

Then defensively he said "It's not my fault you happen to have lousy servants like Borris!"

"HIS NAME" Merlin said loudly, getting into Arthur's face, "IS MORRIS, and you will treat all of my employees with the respect and courtesy that they deserve."

"Oh ho! Hark whose talking about respect! I arrived here this morning and sent for you immediately, and how many hours after did you turn up exactly? And you are lecturing me on courtesy? Pot kettle black, don't you think Merlin?"

It was Merlin's turn to act defensive and he said biting his lips and looking down, "I had some important work to do."

"More like you were shacked up with a book, making love to it with your gimmicks!"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't call it gimmicks Arthur" Merlin said slowly, enunciating each word so Arthur understood his ire perfectly.

"I'd prefer it if you lit the goddamn fireplace Merlin!"

Merlin's eyes flared gold, and the fireplace started burning away merrily again. And just as sudden as the cold came, Arthur was suddenly suffused with gentle warmth, like the whole rooms temperature had been altered at the drop of a hat again.

If only inside his mind Arthur admitted that Merlin's gimmicks were sometimes useful.

Now that they'd finished arguing and Arthur had gotten what he wanted like always, they both lapsed into an awkward silence.

Merlin looked at anywhere but at Arthur, he couldn't believe that Arthur was really here, after a decade. And even though he had loved the solitude and peace for a whole decade, he felt a strange sense of thrill at Arthur being here again, if only temporarily for a month because he wanted to be impregnated of all things!

"Oh let's just get on with it Merlin!" Arthur said snapping his fingers in the air as Merlin groaned internally.

Arthur didn't give him time to do anything else but follow as he opened the bedroom door taking off his clothes quickly, unceremoniously throwing them on the floor as he got completely naked in under a minute and Merlin was forcibly confronted with his very attractive husband's naked back again, in just about two days' time.

It was just a shock to his system as he watched Arthur climb on to the bed, never making eye contact with him, showing him his back the entire time. He could count on one single hand the number of times they'd had sex before, now he had to have sex with Arthur for thirty days, each day, every day and he felt a mix of apprehension and exhilaration as he divulged himself of his own clothing as Arthur settled onto the bed, head down and looking about as interested in it as a mannequin dummy.

Merlin came to the edge of the bed, naked and just took a whole minute to appreciate the sight before him. However much Arthur was an irritating, nitwit who annoyed and angered him all the time, his body was divinely, especially his arse. He was so full and fat there, he had a huge and plush royal bottom and that same bottom had haunted Merlin's fantasies ever since he'd been unwillingly married to his equally unwilling Prince.

He didn't have to look down to know he was aroused beyond belief, but then again he was a legitimate reprobate, however much Arthur thought otherwise.

Merlin slowly climbed onto the bed bracketing Arthur's body with his own, noticing the way Arthur's spine tensed, pushing his arse out even further and making Merlin let out an unintentional groan that had Arthur turning his head around.

"Can you be any more slow Merlin? I haven't got all night…"

Merlin put his hands on Arthur's thighs and squeezed, "Actually, we do have all night long."

He slowly moved his hands up and then down on Arthur's thighs as Arthur turned back front, hiding from his view again.

Hiking his hands higher, he grabbed the cheeks of Arthur's fleshy arse, loving how soft and full they felt in his hands, his mind flashed to Gwaine's hands on Arthur's arse, Gwaine sitting very much like he was with Arthur and his hands squeezed hard, making Arthur yelp in protest as he turned around again and tried to slap Merlin's hands off his arse.

Merlin didn't have it though, and he didn't respectfully take his hands off, he brought his face close to Arthur's arse cheeks and Arthur's eyes were wide in their sockets as he felt himself get aroused with Merlin's wandering hands, he felt a kiss and then a lick on his right arse cheek and laid down his head, knowing he should ask Merlin to stop and get on with it but somehow unable to.

Merlin's hands kneaded his other cheek, as he felt the telltale loosening of his channel, and wetness seep out from his whole, he'd never felt so aroused like this with Merlin, he'd never even thought Merlin was capable of any attraction to him.

"Do you have the potion?" Merlin asked voice muffled as he was speaking to Arthur's arse rather than to Arthur and Arthur took the vial that he'd had in his hand all this time and quickly drank it down.

Merlin watched from behind, once Arthur was done he positioned himself behind Arthur, reaching a finger like always to check.

Arthur clenched down on the finger instinctively and Merlin groaned lowly again before he took his finger out and swiftly replaced it with his cock. He drove in setting a brutal rhythm, covering Arthur's back instead of sitting on his haunches like he always did, the front of his chest pressed tightly to Arthur's back as Arthur tried to bit his lip hard to hold in the sounds he wanted to make.

It went on for so long Arthur would have felt it burnt and dried out if it wasn't for Merlin's magic lubricating him and making his channel wet and hot for Merlin.

"Oh God!" Merlin lost his tightly controlled pace and just rammed home now chasing his pleasure savagely as he never did and Arthur bit the pillow hard to keep himself grounded and not loudly moan for more.

Merlin came with a muttered curse, and Arthur's orgasm was pulled out of him as he jerked under Merlin, his come shooting out and wetting the bed sheets, they were both breathing heavily and Merlin's weight on his back felt welcome and comfortable for the first time to Arthur as he laid there, unable to believe sex with Merlin had been that good!

He felt Merlin moving away finally, and was surprised to find himself feeling disappointed as Merlin dropped a feather light kiss onto the back of his neck, saying "See you tomorrow"

Arthur laid there for a long time that night, wondering if he'd stepped into twilight zone suddenly until he was reminded he hadn't eaten by a growl from his stomach.

He wondered why no one had brought him his dinner, and then remembered that Merlin had ordered that no staff would assist Arthur with anything.

"MER-LIN!" Arthur muttered spitefully before getting up and throwing a shirt on, time to make Merlin see that a servant-less Arthur was a very angry Arthur indeed.

Not to mention that after the sex, the least Merlin could do was provide him with food!

"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted out as he went out of his chambers in search of Merlin, and all the servants in the household shuddered as one at his obnoxiously loud voice, somewhere in the palace Merlin sighed rubbing his temples as Arthur's rather penetrating voice reached him, and Freya hid a smile behind her hand, things were certainly going to be interesting with Lord Pendragon around.


End file.
